Cotton-chopping machine



G. N. CHENAULT coTToN CHOPPING MACHINE sept. 3o, 1930.

Filed Nov. 9, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ASeptfso, 1930.

G` N. cHENAuL'r 1,776,830

COTTON CHOPPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 192e 2 sheets-sheet 2 NVENTOR A TTORNE y v y Patented Sept. 30, 1930 gions than in others.`

UNITE-'D STATES GEORGE N. cHnivAULfr,v or DALLAsrnxns, Assrenon ontrWEnrY-Two AND ONE-HALF Y :PER eENr Tou. '13. srnrirnns or HANDLEY, TEXAS, ANDTWENTY PER cnivrr` 'ro` H. G. DOSS AND FIVE ``l?il l[1'. CENT TO H. E.; COUCHfBOTH OF DALLAS,.TEXAS cturrolv'cnorrmev Mr icnnvn Application led Ncyember 9, 1928. Serial No. 318,178.

` This invention relates to agricultural im plements and especially to cotton choppers of the rotary hoe type and its principal object resides in janovel arrangement of gears and shafts to perform in a uniform manner, and with greaterspeed, the work ordinarily done manually. y i

Another object 'of the inventionvis manifest in its adaptability to operation under various Aconditions in cotton "regions as regards the variations iirwidth of rows anrdfdepth of furrows, the rowsjbeingwider andthe furrowsdeeper in some partsofthe cotton re- Still another object ofthe invention'resides; in the novel arrangements of the adjustments permitting the operator to disengage at will,

the cutting bl,ades,such{action being necessary at" times due to a poor stand or meager growthof the plant, on such occasions it being necessary to act quickly and the ease with which these adjustments caribe made enables the operator to perform the work of several men by the old hand method vof cotton chopping in a neater and -more uniform and expeditious manner. y

A further object of the invention is'apparent in the simplicity of' its construction and the compartively small cost of production in bringing about, a saving -in labor cost of raising a cropcof cotton, it being a-well known fact that, especiallyrin the southlandfwhere the bulkfof the nations' cottonis grown, farm labor is becoming more scarce and one of the outstanding objects ofthis invention ist-oV Figure 2 is a cross section. of hoe carriage( showing worm gears and shaft;V "j .y

j `Figure 3 represents the preferred form of clutch used on the invention, f "j i 1 Figure f4 is 'a perspective viewl of spider tion, reference is primarily made to VFigure l in which the'main frame-1 of the invention is bolted `on either end to T shaped castings 2, vthe lower portions ofwhich are provided with apertures 3 which form bearings for the main shaft-'oraxle 4.` The castings 2 are heldupright by` braces iand draft bars 6 which are attached to pole jTf 'j VVThe hoe operatingV elements of the invention, across section of which is'shown in Figure 2, consist of two 'upright standards' 8 held together by crossbars 9.`V :The standards are mounted in main casting l and are adapted for vertical movement by means of gears 11, the teeth of which are normally engaged with the teeth 13 on the standards 8; Grears'llV are fixed rigidly 'to a shaft 14 which is rotatableby means of a hand wheel 15 to'enable the hoe carriage to be moved yerticallyto any desired position, and held in position by a pawl12.r j

` A shaft liinterpose'd between; standards 8 and constrained against other than `vertical movement by casting 10, 'drives `the cuttingr elements, `the latter eachconsisting of a spider casting 17 and hoes 18, by means of worin gear 16a the latterbeing slid'ablykeyed to the shaft 16 andmeshing with worm'gear lbjon the main shaft 4, shown in fragmentary detail in FigureS. f j I f Itwillbe noted that gears 19 'and' 2,() are in reversed relationshiponr either side,fthat is to4 say,on the right side of the ,machineV the gear 2O is in front ofgear 19 4'while on the left side the gear 19 is in front of gear20.Vr This arrangement reverses the rotation of shafts 21- ofthe cutting elements# to cause the `blades or carrying hoes, showingset screws vsu 18, of spider casting 17, to cut in opposite directions. These blades 18 are set on an angle to strike obliquely on the ground or cutting area in the direction of the movement of the machine, thereby reducing the draft load which would be Vevidenced if the cutting blades were set to strike the cutting area directly crosswise the row. These blades 18 are rigidly attached to shanks 22, which are received by hollow arms of spider casting 17, and are adj ustable-by sliding the shanks 22 in or out of the arms of the spider casting to desiredV position and are held fast by set screws' 23 in the spider casting. l

The sp-ider casting, has three arms extending radially from an apertured center portion, which lat-ter is attached to shaft 21 by means of set screw 24, and may be fixed rigidly to the shaft at any desired position along the full length of the shaft 21;

Due to the variation in widths of the rows, it is desirable to adjust the distance between the cutting elements. To accomplish this, rack bars 25 are provided and mesh with lpinions 26 attachedy rigidly'toshafts 27 which latter are rotatableby means-of hand wheels 28. When the horizontal adjustment of the hoe carriages is made, these members are restrained against side-wisev-movement by pawls 29, engaging the rack bars. A- spring 30, suspended fromlcasting '10' and attached'to the footof standard 8 assists the operator in vraising thecarriage by the hand wheel. The purpose of` spring 30 is to hold the carriage in suspension from the main casting 10. Y j

Referring specifically to the worm gears, shown in cross section in Figure 8, attention is directed to the key seat in these members as respects their relationship to the shaft.r

The shaft 16, being key wayedr its entire length, is permitted `to move freely up and down, allowing the worm gear 16a to remain stationary .and in engagement withY worm gear 16b on main shaft 4, which latter is also key wayed itsentire length allowing it to move horizontally. `without interference. The worm gear 1,61 is held in positive engagement with worm gear 16a byY sleeves V31 on the shaft 4 and disposed between worm gear 16h` and the walls of the main casting 10.V

j rlrhe worm gear 16 is held by the sleeve 32 on shaft`16, between the worm gear 16a and top'of the main castinglO. This structure allows free horizontal movement of themain carriage, showny in cross section in Figure L,2, and'vertical movements of hoe standards 8, shown also in Figure 2, withoutaffecting their normalfunction asV respects theirdriving elements. Y. Y y i fInas'much as thefm'ain shaft`or axle-.4 ro#A tates freely inthe framel and castings 2 and other component parts, itis necessaryto provide'ameans lto restrain the. main. frame 1 and,4 other parts from longitudinal di'sp'lace A ment on the main shaft or axle 4. For this' purpose, set collars 33 are provided to surround shaft 4 on either side of the center casting or bea-ring 34, which is arranged transversely. through the frame, said collars being held immovable byset screws.

In turning the machine, at the end of the rows, or for any other purpose when the cutting elements'are in action, means are provided to disengage the pivot wheel from the axle. yWhen the clutch 36 is engaged, there will be no twist or strain on shaft or axle 4,`as in turning and, the wheel on the outside of the turning areavwill normally move forward but the wheel on the inside of the turning area being released will have a tendency to turn backwards, which otherwise would cause a twist or strain on the axle 4. The clutch shown in detail in Figure 3 is composed of three parts, of which the main or driving part 37 overlaps flange 38 of the wheel and is held secure by set screw 39. The claws 40' of this member engage claws 41 of a grooved member 42, which is adapted to rotate freely on shaft 4, and which is provided lwith inner ,claws 43 extending in an opposite direction, that is to say, to act in reverse rotation of the member 42, and which engage claws 44 on a member 45 which is held rigidly to shaft 4 by 'means of feather key andA countersunk -set screws 46. It is obvious, therefore, that when the wheels35 are normally rotating in the same direction, the clutch member 37 act-s against the memf.

ber 42 when thesey twomembers are brought into engagement by means of the fork 47 on the T casting 2 and are held in engagement by expansion spring 48, and the result will be to bring into engagement also the claws 44 on member 45 with the claws 43 in member 42. The rotative power is thus transmitted to shaft 4'Y through the claws V43 in member 42 coming into' engagement'with the claws 44 on member 45. The member 42, being free to rotate on the shaft, it is obvious that a reverse action ofthe wheel, would result in the disengagement of the claws 44 on member v with the claws 43 in the member'42, which will allow the wheel to turn freely on shaft '4. j v Y y Inoperation, the operator sits on seat 49 supported by spring or bracket 50 attached to frame casting 34. vWhen the operator desires to adjust the width Yofthe cutting area of theI carriages thismaybe accomplished by the rotation of the hand wheels 28, con veniently located on either side'y of the rear of the machine. Thisis sometimes desired when the rows become narrower or when a wider uniformityis practiced in planting.

f `By 'the simple rotationl of hand wheels 15 the depth of the cutting blades 18: may be gauged, or they may be raised completely Vout of action as is desired, when the "machine is transported lfrom one ieldto another. j j

tical standard 5l having a casting 52 surV rounding shaft 53, the latter having a fork 54 carrying an axle 55 on which a wheel 56` is mounted. Y i

Manifestly, the construction shown is'capable of considerable modification and such modification as is considered within thescope of the following claims is also considered within the scope of the invention.

f What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the type set forth, a

frame having a pair of spaced horizontal rack bars, a pair of hoe carriers each composed of a body, pinions carried by the body and in mesh with the teeth of the rack bars, means to rotate the pinions to move the body lengthwise of the rack bars, a pairof toothed standards vertically slidableY on said body and in the space between theraclr bars., pinions on the body in mesh with the teeth of the standards to raise and lower same, a hoe carrying shaft journaled in the lower ends of the standards, means to rotate said hoe carrying shafts, and spring means connected to the standards and to the body for resiliently supporting the standards.`

2. In a machine of the type set forth, a frame having a pair of spaced horizontal rack bars, a pair of hoe carriers each com-' posed of a body, pinions carried by the body and in mesh with 'the teeth of the rack bars, means to rotate the pinions to move the body lengthwise of the rack bars, a pair of toothed standards vertically slidable on said body and in the space between the rack bars, pinions on the body in mesh with the teeth of and extending through said hoe carrier bodies to slidably support same, and means to rotate` the hoe-carrying shafts.

4:. In combinationvwith a frame, an axle carried by the frame and having traction wheels thereon, a pair of hoe carriers having pinions and also perforated parts through which the axle extends so as to slidably mount the carriers on the axle, and combined means to engage the pinions to hold the carriers against turning on the axle and to slide the carriers upon rotating the pinions.

5. In combination withA a frame having spaced rack bars, an axle on the frame disposed in said space between the bars and having traction wheels thereon, hoe carriers hav ing perforated parts through which the axle extends to slidably mount the carriers, pinions von the carriers in mesh with the teeth i GEORGE N; CHENAULT.

the standards to raise and lower same, a hoe carrying shaft journaled in the lower ends of the standards, and means to rotate said hoe carrying shaft.

3. In a machine of the type set forth, a,

frame having a pair of spaced horizontal rack bars, a pair of hoe carrierseach composed of a body, pinions carried by the body t and in mesh with the teeth of the rack bars,

means to rotate the pinions to move the `body lengthwise of the rack bars, a pair Vof toothed standards vertically slidable on said body and in the space between the rack bars, pinf ions on the body in mesh with the teeth of the standards to raise andllower same, a hoe carrying shaft journaled in the lower ends of the standards, an axle `having traction wheels'thereon journaled on the frame and disposed in the space between the rack bars 

